1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a training toy. More particularly, the present invention relates to a training toy which has the general configuration of a shoe and presents a series of pairs of adjustable diameter eyelets for assisting a child in learning the task of lacing and tying shoes and also generally to enhance his motor skills, particularly his eye/hand coordination.
2. General Background and Prior Art
Children at a very early age are dependent upon their parents and adults in general to assist them with manual tasks which require a certain degree of dexterity, which is lacking in most children during the early years. One of the tasks, which all children and parents must face, is the task of lacing and tying of shoes, a daily chore which, when continued to go unlearned by a child, is a severe burden and frustration for the child, and an inconvenience for the parents during the course of each day. Thus, it is desirable that a child be exposed to the manipulation steps involved in lacing and tying shoes at the earliest age possible.
The present invention presents the child with a learning device conceived as a toy, so that the child welcomes the contact with the toy device from day to day and, through this day-to-day manipulation and contact with the toy, is exposed to the steps in learning to lace and tie shoes.
3. General Discussion of the Present Invention
The present invention utilizes the features of a generally shoetype configured toy wherein a series of opposed pairs of adjustable diameter eyelets running along the top surface of the toy would resemble closely the eyelets of a shoe. Also, the top surface of the toy is angled in such a way so as to resemble the downward slant of a shoe as it conforms to the shape of the foot. The shoe-type toy preferably is set on four wheels with a string located in the front for easy maneuverability of the toy from one room to the next as a child moves about.
The toy preferably includes a hollowed out or open storage and play center so that the child, upon passing the end of a string through an outlet along the top of the toy, can easily reach in beneath the eyelet, as one would do in lacing a shoe. This process would be, as with a shoe, started at the base of the shoetype toy, and continued with the upward and downward lacing through the series of eyelets until the criss-cross effect is achieved through the last series of eyelets, whereupon the child then practices the task of tying the laces into a bow as he would his own shoe. This is, of course, the ultimate goal of the invention, which is realized after the child is exposed to the toy of the invention and has achieved the simple task of threading the eyelets.
To further adapt the invention to the child's progress as he develops increased eye/hand coordination, the invention in its preferred embodiment is equipped with a series of slidable plates having different diameter openings, which, when aligned with the static maximum opening eyelets cause them to effectively become increasingly smaller in circumference. This variability of the eyelet diameters, enabling the eyelets to effectively constrict and expand, enables the older, better coordinated child to obtain a greater degree skill in threading the smaller eyelets, hopefully eventually to the point that the eyelet size is that of an actual shoe, and the child then would be able to thread the eyelets on an actual shoe without any difficulty.
Thus, from the shoetype toy of the invention the child could easily move into the lacing and tying of his own shoes, having achieved the necessary skills after exposure to the toy of the present invention.
The present invention thus provides a child's training toy, wherein an elongated body, in the shape of a shoetype configuration, has the slope of the top surface from the back to the front of the toy forming an angle of the order of for example thirty degrees with the bottom surface. The shoetype toy is preferably hollowed out or beneath the top surface, for reasons explained further. Along the top surface is situated a series of pairs of eyelets, resembling the eyelets of a shoe, but significantly larger in diameter in their maximum adjustment disposition. An appropriate mechanical diameter adjustment system or means is provided for decreasing the circumferential area or diameter of the shoe eyelets. Contrarily, movement of the adjustment system in the opposite direction causes the diameters of the eyelets to increase.
This making of the diameter of the eyelets adjustable is desirable so that a younger child could thread the eyelets at their maximum expanse, and, as the child was able to become more adept at threading the eyelets, decreasing their size until they closely resembled or simulated the size of the eyelets of an actual shoe.
As noted, the entire toy rides preferably on a set of back wheels and front wheels, with a string attachment located at the front end so that the child can pull the toy around from room to room, thus increasing his exposure to it during the course of the day.
It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a training toy to help in the training of children in the task of lacing and tying their shoes, which is a very complicated task for a small child.
It is also an object of this invention to better a child's fine coordination skills which often play an important role in how well the child will do in school, as has been stated by a number of child psychologists.
Another object of this invention is to have the parents actually help with this learning process, which itself will help the child and the parent to have a good relationship, and this also helps the child generally in his school work. As stated by child psychologists, children who get more attention from their parents during their early, formative stages of development are better adjusted when they mature, and also seem to do better in their school settings.
With the above and other objects in mind, which will appear as the description proceeds, the present invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts substantially as hereinafter described and defined by the claims, it being understood that this showing and description are to be taken in an illustrative sense only.